Hoisting sling



Nov. 14, 1967 J. RODGERS HOISTING SLING Fiied Jan. 19, 1966' United States Patent 3,352,592 HOISTING SLING 7 Leonard John Rodgers, Derby, England, assignor to Rolls-Royce Limited, Derby, England, a British company Filed Jan. 19, 1966, Ser. No. 521,683 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Feb. 4, 1965,

- 4,863/65 2 Claims. (Cl. 29481) ABSTRACT 0F THE DISCLOSURE A hoisting frame has fixed radial arms which carry at each outer end a respective L-lever pivotable at the junction of its two arms in a radial plane. The inwardly extending lever arms are engageable by locking pins to lock the respective levers in positions where outwardly projecting elements carried thereby engage an article to be hoisted. Where the article is a lift jet engine the projecting elements may engage holes in the intake Wall.

The present invention relates to a hoisting frame.

According to the present invention, there is provided a hoisting frame comprising a plurality of arms, each arm carrying a pivoted member provided with a respective projecting element, said members being movable between first positions in which the respective projecting elements can engage simultaneously in respective recesses provided in an article to be hoisted and respective second positions in which said projecting elements cannot so engage the article, locking means for locking each respective pivoted member as required in its said first position, and means for attaching a hoist to the frame.

Preferably, the projecting elements extend radially and are movable in a radial direction into and out of engagement with the said recesses.

Each arm preferably extends radially from a common central point, the respective pivoted members being provided at or adjacent the radially outer ends of the respective arms.

Stop means are preferably provided for limiting the range of angular movement of each pivoted member.

Said locking means preferably comprises a respective locking pin which engages in corresponding apertures in the lever and the respective arm to lock the lever in the said first position.

The pivot of each pivoted member is preferably, although not essentially, disposed radially outwardly of the said apertures engaged by the respective locking pin, the said projecting elements extending radially outwardly in said first positions to engage in respective recesses in an interior wall of the article to be hoisted. Said manner of use of a frame is described in copending US. application Ser. No. 521,682, filed Jan. 19, 1966, in the name of the present applicant.

According to one embodiment of the invention, said means for attaching a hoist to the frame comprises a hoist engaging member which is retained on but capable of movement with respect to the frame so that changes in the direction of the hoisting force applied to the frame may be accommodated by lateral movement of the hoist engaging member so that the hoisting force always acts through a predetermined point on the article to be hoisted. Said hoist engaging member may comprise a sliding or rolling element retained on an arcuate guide rail and adapted to move thereon. Preferably, the arcuate rail is arcuately curved with respect to a centre on the vertical axis of the article to be hoisted above the centre of gravity thereof, whereby to maintain the stability of the article while it is being hoisted.

3,352,592 Patented Nov. 14, 1967 The invention will be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawing, which shows a hoisting frame in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

The hoisting frame, generally indicated by 10, comprises a member having three arms 11 extending radially at equal angular intervals from a central hub 12. Ad jacent the radially outer end of each arm 11 is a pivot 13 on which a member 14 having a lug 15 outwardly projecting therefrom is pivotally mounted. The lug 15 is received in appropriately formed recesses 16 in an article to be lifted, which in this instance, is a gas turbine engine, the intake duct 17 only of which is shown. The members 14 can each be locked relative to their respective arms 11 by a peg 18 which is received in registering apertures 19 in the members 14 and arms 11. To prevent the pegs 18 becoming mislaid, they are fastened to the arms 11 by a wire or chain 20.

Each pivoted member 14 is formed from the base of the U facing radially outwardly and the two limbs thereof being disposed either side of the respective arm 11. Each pivoted member 14 comprises in effect an L-shaped lever having a portion 14a which extends radially inwardly from the pivot 13 and a depending portion 14b which carries the lug 15. Each member 14 is prevented from pivoting too far by a stop bar 21 afiixed to the respective arm 11 and lying in the path of pivoting movement of the portion 14a.

A hoisting ring 22 is attached to the hub 12 for attaching a hoist (not shown) to the frame 10.

Disposed between two of the arms 11, is a positioning arm 23, carrying an inverted U piece 24, which fits over a fixed projection on the engine intake 17, thus providing rapid alignment of the lugs 15 with recesses 16.

While the frame 10 has been shown with the apertures 19 disposed radially inwardly of pivots 13, so as to be suitable for engaging an article 'by moving the lugs 15 radially outwardly from the interior of the article, it is to be understood that the invention also includes a frame 10 in which the pivots 13 are disposed radially inwardly of apertures 19 to permit the lugs 15 to be moved radially inwardly and engage an article from the exterior thereof.

In another embodiment of the invention, not shown, which is suitable for hoisting an article along a path which is not vertical, the ring 22 is replaced by a movable hoist engaging member, such as a slide, roller or ring which is retained on, but may move laterally with respect to, a guide rail extending across the normally uppermost side of the arms 11, said hoist engaging member being in use attached to a hook or like lifting element of a hoist or crane. The guide rail is arcuately curved about a point on the vertical axis of the article to be lifted above the centre of gravity of the article to maintain the stability of the article while it is being hoisted. A method and apparatus for hoisting an engine in this way is described in said application Ser. No. 521,682, filed Jan. 19, 1966. There may be more than one rail, which would then intersect with the first named rail, to permit the article to be hoisted along a number of different non-vertical paths without upsetting the stability thereof.

I claim:

1. A hoisting frame comprising a hub, at least three fixed arms extending radially at equiangular intervals from the hub, a respective L-shaped double lever pivotally mounted at the radially outer end of each respective arm about an axis extending circumferentially with respect to the hub, each said lever having a first lever arm extending downwardly from the respective pivot axis and a second lever arm extending radially inwardly from said pivot axis, a respective radially outwardly projecting element provided on each respective first lever arm, a respective locking pin, and pin-receiving apertures at the radially inner end of each said second lever arm and in the respective fixed arm, said apertures being aligned and the pin being receivable in said apertures to lock the respective double lever relative to the fixed arm when the respective projectingelement is in a position in which it is engageable with an article to be hoisted, the lever arms being movable independently when the locking pins are disengaged from said apertures to positions in which the article to be hoisted is not so engageable with said article, and means for attachment of a hoist to the frame.

2. A hoisting frame as claimed in claim 1 in which a stop member is provided on each fixed anm for limiting the range of angular movement of the respective L-shaped double lever.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 0 HUGO O. SCHULZ, Primary Examiner.

GERALD M. FORLENZA, Examiner. G. F. ABRAHAM; Assistant Examiner. 

1. A HOISTING FRAME COMPRISING A HUB, AT LEAST THREE FIXED ARMS EXTENDING RADIALLY AT EQUIANGULAR INTERVALS FROM THE HUB, A RESPECTIVE L-SHAPED DOUBLE LEVER PIVOTALLY MOUNTED AT THE RADIALLY OUTER END OF EACH RESPECTIVE ARM ABOUT AN AXIS EXTENDING CIRCUMFERENTIALLY WITH RESPECT TO THE HUB, EACH SAID LEVER HAVING A FIRST LEVER ARM EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY FROM THE RESPECTIVE PIVOT AXIS AND A SECOND LEVER ARM EXTENDING RADIALLY INWARDLY FROM SAID PIVOT AXIS, A RESPECTIVE RADIALLY OUTWARDLY PROJECTING ELEMENT PROVIDED ON EACH RESPECTIVE FIRST LEVER ARM, A RESPECTIVE LOCKING PIN, AND PIN-RECEIVING APERTURES AT THE RADIALLY INNER END OF EACH SAID SECOND LEVER ARM AND IN THE RESPECTIVE FIXED ARM, SAID APERTURES BEING ALIGNED AND THE PIN BEING RECEIVABLE IN SAID APERTURES TO LOCK THE RESPECTIVE DOUBLE LEVER RELATIVE TO THE FIXED ARM WHEN THE RESPECTIVE PROJECTING ELEMENT IS IN A POSITION IN WHICH IT IS ENGAGEABLE WITH AN ARTICLE TO BE HOISTED, THE LEVER ARMS BEING MOVABLE INDEPENDENTLY WHEN THE LOCKING PINS ARE DISENGAGED FROM SAID APERTURES TO POSITIONS IN WHICH THE ARTICLE TO BE HOISTED IS NOT SO ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID ARTICLE, AND MEANS FOR ATTACHMENT OF A HOIST TO THE FRAME. 